Illinois Search Dogs (ISD), based out of central Illinois, provides certified Search & Rescue K-9 teams to assist authorized agencies in locating lost or missing persons in emergencies, including natural and man made disasters.
Cadaver dogs are trained to locate the odor of decomposing human remains on land or in the water, ignoring live human scent and animal scent.
Disaster dogs work much in the same way as an area search dog, but they are specifically trained to find live human scent within the context of a disaster.
Area search dogs find people by locating human scent as it travels on the wind.
Trailing dogs will follow the route of a specific person’s scent deposited on the ground as a person moves through an area.
ISD has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 charitable organization.
All donations are tax deductible and always appreciated. We could not function without the support of public and private donations.
Illinois Search Dogs (ISD) is a team of professional volunteers with the mission of training, certifying and deploying highly motivated Handler/K-9 teams. The purpose of these teams is to locate lost or buried victims in emergencies including natural and man made disasters. Members of ISD have been selected as Canine Search Specialists with the Illinois Urban Search & Rescue Team ("IL-USAR"), and with the Missouri Task Force 1. The ISD Disaster Team trains to FEMA standards.
Illinois Search Dogs is also developing a Missing Person Response Team (MPRT). This team will consist of air scent, trailing, cadaver and first responder disaster dogs. These dogs are capable of locating victims in wilderness, urban, agricultural and water environments. The MPRT will respond with the assistance of various mutual aid resources as needed.
Illinois Search Dogs knows that it takes more than K-9s and Handlers to form a team. We appreciate our Support Team members and we realize that we could not exist without them. We welcome anyone interested in learning more about our team and how they might be a part of our vision.